Firebird
by Imperial Mint
Summary: For owlgoddess610 for the opsecretvalentines on tumblr! In which Ace is a fire-type pokémon breeder living in Unova and Marco is a travelling former gym-leader specialising in flying types. This time, Marco returns with an extra special surprise for Ace. Marco/Ace


**Pairing:** Ace/Marco  
**Notes:** So this was for owlgoddess610 and I hope you like it! I wasn't sure where to go with this, but I hope a pokemon fusion is okay. You said you like your 3ds and I saw a few pokemon posts on your blog and this idea just stuck with me! Thank you so much for being a great partner and, again, I hope you enjoy!

**.**

There was a rustle from the corner of the room, and Ace looked over his shoulder to see a small snout pushing a box of pokéblocks towards him. Ace smiled, letting his tepig carry on with its task, returning his attention to the studbook he was signing off.

"Everything's in order," he said, stamping his official seal and closing the book. Professor Robin smiled gently at him, stroking the ear of the tepig on the table. It was only a few days old, but Ace was more than happy for Robin to take it. She'd be caring for it until she found it a good home, and his tepig would go on an incredible journey.

Ace remembered his own journey, nervously getting his first pokémon and travelling. He'd eventually settled as a pokémon breeder in Unova, specialising in fire-types, soon made a name for himself and become the number one breeder of fire types. Ace wasn't too concerned with the titles – all he cared about was his pokémon.

"Thank you tepig," Ace said, reaching to pick up the box of pokéblocks his tepig had finally pushed over. Tepig snorted sparks proudly, snuffling up at the table to the younger tepig. Ace lifted his pokémon onto the table and smiled as the duo greeted each other warmly.

"And here's the pokéblocks you requested," Ace said with a smile. Robin took the box and tucked it into a bag on her shoulder. She scooped the tepig into her arms and made for the door, pausing as she placed a hand on the handle.

"I heard of a certain Kalos-born trainer that's turned their eye to the Kanto legendaries," Robin said, and Ace hummed, feigning disinterest. "You're originally from Kanto, aren't you?"

Ace nodded, resting his hands on the counter before him. Kanto seemed so far away now.

"A long time ago," Ace said. He should really organise a meeting with fellow fire-type breeders. He knew a few, but they've never formally met. It would be good to travel for a short while, and he trusted his employees to hold down the fort.

"Maybe one day I'll go back there. I have a feeling something interesting's coming my way though, now you've mentioned that Kalos-born trainer." Ace winked dramatically. Robin laughed at him, exiting the breeding centre and heading back to her lab.

Her departure left Ace to tend to his chores. He had eggs to turn, pokémon to feed and groom, as well as matches to negotiate. After lunch, he'd be joined by Haruta as he had a few client meetings.

His tepig sneezed and Ace looked down in worry, hoping there wasn't an illness going about. Maybe he'd let his tepig spend the afternoon downstairs in the deep caves. While the nearby Chargestone caves were well known for their boost to electric-types, Ace had found an underground network of caves pooling with magma and heat. His fire pokémon loved these caves and Ace could sit down there for hours watching them.

There was a grunt from the back of the room and Ace turned to look as one of his oldest pokémon shook themselves off, tongue lolling from its mouth. Ace had had his arcanine since it had been a growlithe and she was his pride and joy. They'd showed together, a long time ago now, and she had been one of the most sought out breeding partners when she'd been younger. Without her, Ace would have struggled to get where he was.

"I think they'll be here soon," Ace commented, and his arcanine tilted her head, tail thumping on the ground excitedly. "They're not ones to be late."

It was late evening when the jingle of the shop bell sounded. Ace knows who it will be, as clients never arrive this late, and he peeks out of the back room in time to see someone familiar.

"Hey buddy," he says as a scarred, muscular charizard moved towards him. Ace threw his arms around it, letting the charizard swing him around in delight.

"We were meant to stay at the port for the night, but once we hit land, he couldn't wait to get home." Ace looked around the embrace of his charizard at the man by the door, grin spreading over his lips.

"You were gone longer this time," Ace said, fingers running over the bumpy skin, knowing his charizard wouldn't be letting him go for a while yet.

The man hummed to himself, shrugging off the jacket he was wearing and hanging it up in the backroom. He began unclipping the pokéballs on his hip, placing them on the counter.

"We were following a lead on some pokémon," Marco said, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "We ended up a little bit more lost that we were meant to, but we found what we wanted." He smiled and charizard finally let Ace go.

Ace wasted no time in walking towards Marco and throwing his arms around him, smiling as he kissed Marco.

"How long do I get you?" he asked as Marco linked his arms behind Ace's back, letting Ace lean back. Marco pulled a face before leaning in and kissing Ace's forehead.

"A while," he said softly. "We missed you a lot this time and I think we could all use a long break."

He tapped Ace's shoulder gently and they separated, Ace understanding what Marco wanted.

"Let's go inside properly," Ace said, already running through ideas of what he could give Marco for dinner, but Marco shook his head.

"I want to show you something first."

Ace raised an eyebrow, watching as Marco released his pokémon one by one. Four pokémon, a talonflame, a staraptor, a swellow and an altaria, greeted Ace with enthusiasm. They looked all in good health, just a little tired and glad to be home. Ace might adjust their food next time Marco set out.

"Did you have a good trip?" Ace asked, smiling as Marco's pokémon began chattering away. A nose butted his elbow and Ace turned to his charizard, stroking his cheek gently.

This charizard had been Ace's first pokémon. This was the charmander that he'd chosen so many years ago, and the partnership they'd formed meant everything to Ace. When he'd decided to settle in Unova, their partnership had been tested to the maximum. His charizard was an explorer, a pokémon that couldn't settle as Ace had wanted to, and they'd been so close to parting ways.

It was Marco who had offered a solution. As a former gym leader specialising in flying pokémon, not to mention a master trainer who hadn't stopped exploring since he'd passed on his gym, Marco had been interested in Ace's breeding centre and stopped by. He'd brought pokémon Ace only recognised from books, a talonflame and a braixen, and Ace had been amazed by them. He'd never been to Kalos, never met a trainer from Kalos even, and the opportunity had been too good to pass up.

Marco had ended up staying for three weeks, and in those three weeks, they agreed a trade of sorts. Marco's braixen had needed time to rest after a particularly gruelling journey around Unova and Ace had offered to look after Marco's pokémon if Marco would take charizard with him. It was a plan that had worked remarkably well, and it had been their way of working for the past five years.

"Your delphox is downstairs," Ace said fondly, watching as charizard left him to head towards the lower levels. "I think she's trying to teach the three fennekins we have some moves."

Marco raised an eyebrow, lips down turning apologetically.

"She's a troublemaker," he said and Ace laughed. "And you spoil her something rotten."

Ace shrugged, not even denying it. He spoilt Marco's delphox as much as Marco spoilt his charizard. How could he not?

"What did you want to show me?" Ace asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. Marco rolled his eyes, but Ace caught his wink and looked down. They'd been together for so long, but one wink from Marco was all it took for butterflies to take flight in his stomach.

There was a pokéball on the counter and Ace's eyes widened as he recognised the markings of an ultra ball, and he knew the only reason Marco would use an ultra ball.

"Professor Robin said she'd heard rumours you were in Kanto," Ace said, voice quiet and excited. He wondered which legendary Marco had brought home, though his heart was on one in particular.

"Let's go downstairs," Marco suggested and Ace nodded right away. He locked up the shop front quickly, heading inside to the main house and down the stairs that led to the underground network. Charizard and Marco's talonflame were with them, Marco's other pokémon choosing to remain in the house instead for now.

If one was to come across this underground network without knowing there was a house on top, it would be easy for one to assume that the pokémon down here were wild. As they moved through smaller chambers, Marco leading them to the central room where lava pooled in the centre and Ace's fire pokémon loved to rest. It was the largest chamber too, could easily house hundreds of pokémon, and where Marco always released the legendary pokémon he had captured.

"Do you remember the story you told me – the one about when you left Kanto?" Marco stepped close to Ace, arm brushing his. He curled his fingers, other arm moving back to throw the pokeball, and Ace knew what would be escaping it.

When he'd been leaving Kanto, there had been a light so bright in the sky it had almost hurt Ace's eyes to look at it. No one else had seemed to notice, and Ace hadn't been able to believe they could miss something. The light had been a pokémon, Ace knew, one that didn't like to be seen.

"Go! Moltres!" Marco shouted, and Ace held his breath as a brilliant light filled the cave. A huge bird towered above him, eyes furious and neck arched to attack, but Ace felt no fear.

This was true power and Ace let out a shaky breath. Few people ever saw this pokémon in the wild, and Marco had brought one home just to make Ace happy.

"It's a tricky one," Marco admitted, giving Ace a lop-sided grin. "Decimated my team with ease it was ridiculous. If charizard hadn't been so determined then we definitely would have been in a lot of trouble."

Ace didn't like to think too much about Marco in trouble, and he held his hand out towards the moltres. He'd admired this pokémon his entire life and now, now, here it was, right before his very eyes. And it was all because of Marco.

"Hey there," Ace said to the moltres, and the anger faded from its eyes. "Thank you for coming here with Marco, it can't have been an easy journey."

Ace felt Marco take a step back. He was probably leaving Ace alone, as he tended to do once he brought a new pokémon home for Ace, to connect with the moltres, welcome it to the family so to speak. Ace was better at that, connecting with the pokémon. It was part of what made him such a sought after breeder.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to," Ace said gently, and the moltres tilted its head. They might not be able to speak the same language, but Ace knew pokémon understood just as well as any human.

"But you might like it here. The underground tunnels lead outside so you'd still have your freedom." The moltres looked at the pool of lava nearby, tilting its head before looking back at Ace. It gave a cry, nodding its head, and Ace knew they'd have a new friend for a while at least.

Heading back to the house, Ace let a group of pokémon surround him, knowing they only wanted some extra food. Meal times were regulated strictly and while Ace would have loved to spare a treat here or there, almost all of the pokémon he was caring for were on strict diets.

"I'm sorry," he said to a disgruntled darumaka, "but you'll have to wait until the morning."

Marco was busy making dinner by the time Ace entered the kitchen. They always left the door to the underground tunnels open and so the house was always pleasantly warm, warm enough that Ace could rid himself of his shirt and socks, parading around the house in a pair of shorts. They had tiny flareons on and Ace was very fond of them.

"You look ridiculous," Marco commented, just as he always did, and Ace poked his tongue out.

"You're just jealous because your spearow ones got destroyed by that houndoom." Marco sniffed, stirring the soup he was cooking and shrugging.

"Maybe," he said, and Ace laughed, reaching for Marco's altaria and burrowing his cheek in its feathers. It cheeped happily, half-smothering Ace in soft fluff.

"I should be the one cooking," came Ace's muffled complain, and Marco snorted.

"It's just soup," Marco said, taking the pan off the heat and pouring it into two bowls. He passed one to Ace, after Ace had reluctantly pulled back from Marco's altaria of course, and they made their way to the lounge. They sat down facing each other with their feet pressed against each other, Marco telling Ace of his recent travels.

Hearing about Marco's journey never made Ace feel jealous or upset. He didn't want to travel anymore, had enjoyed it while he'd explored, but this little house in Unova was his home. Breeding and caring for fire pokémon was his passion and Ace couldn't give it up, just as how Marco could never give up exploring. They worked so well because they understood each other.

"I did miss you," Ace said softly, when their dinner had gone down and they'd had to chase off Ace's arcanine from licking the bowls clean.

"I missed you too," Marco said, shifting on the sofa so he could kneel, leaning over Ace and kissing him gently. "I won't be going for a few months now," Marco said softly, as if he was afraid Ace would tell him to get out.

"Good," Ace said, wrapping his arms around Marco's shoulders. They hadn't been together for months in a long while. He shifted his legs, letting Marco lie down until his head was using Ace's chest for a pillow. "You need a long rest."

They ended up falling asleep on the sofa, only waking in the middle of the night when Marco's swellow tried to join them. It gave them a sheepish look, and Ace stroked its head fondly, giving up the sofa to Marco's birds and dragging Marco to their bed.

It was early in the morning when the knock came, and Ace opened his eyes sleepily. He could hear someone shouting from outside and panic gripped at his stomach. Ace slid out from Marco's arm and grabbed a jumper, running to the door. A storm had picked up in the night and rain beat down, obscuring most of the group from his site.

A distraught woman he recognised as the local baker's wife was crying and, next to her, stood Robin's assistant, Koala.

"Ace-san," Koala said, and Ace moved to the side, letting the group crowd into his shop. The door shut, the bell giving a little tingle, and the atmosphere grew thick.

"This woman's child has gone missing," Koala said, and Ace glanced out of the window. If a child was out in that, alone, the odds weren't looking great. "We've been searching all night, but we can't find anything."

Ace knew why they'd come to him. He knew this area well and would be able to direct search parties. He nodded, grabbing a map of the area from behind the counter and laying it out. The child had come from a small village nearby and apparently been seen with a group of joltik. That wasn't anything unusual, but instead of returning home, the child had gone missing.

"What if one of those gangs have taken her?" the mother wailed, and Ace couldn't blame her. Gangs had been stepping up their game lately, and Ace had had to fend off a few attacks himself.

It was no surprise that Marco entered the shop fully dressed, pokéballs on his hip. Ace nodded to him, not even having to say a word, and Marco was gone into the storm. Ace was limited in what he could do with this weather, but if anyone could find the child, it would be Marco.

Koala managed to convince the mother to return to the pokémon lab – the official rendezvous point for this night. Ace stifled a yawn as he pointed out a few more places on the map, hoping they wouldn't need to investigate them. Not only were they hard to get to, even with a flying-type pokémon, but the wild pokémon there were particularly vicious.

A head settled itself against Ace's lap and he smiled at his arcanine, stroking her gently. She pulled back, whining, and Ace frowned. She was never one to become agitated, but something seemed to have set her off now.

The entire house seemed to shake, and Ace knew something was definitely wrong. His hear pounded in his chest and the only sound he could hear was his blood roaring through his body. Something was wrong and the thump of a heavy body against the door proved it.

Ace wrenched the door open, eyes wide as he saw his charizard, soaked to the skin with his tail flame terribly small. Ace was horrified by the condition his charizard was in, and there was only one explanation.

"Marco's in trouble," Ace said, hauling his charizard inside with difficulty. Without charizard's pokeball, Ace was forced to half-drag his injured charizard inside and downstairs, making sure he was warm and in a stable condition before Ace could leave him.

"I'll be back soon," Ace promised, and his charizard batted him away, the meaning clear. Marco was in trouble and he needed to get there as soon as he could.

Running to the house, Ace grabbed his updated dex, glad he'd demanded Marco use the tracking app. He'd be able to see exactly where Marco was and, after confirming his location, Ace's fears were realised. It was rare for people to head in that area and there was one particular pokémon that was less than accommodating. Ace bit his lip as he grabbed pokéballs, knowing that his team would be ridiculously unbalanced. It had never mattered that he used all fire pokémon before.

Grabbing clothes, Ace rushed down to the tunnels, shouting for his chosen pokémon to come to him. His team formed quickly, Marco's delphox practically radiating fighting spirit. Joining them was a flareon, a rapidash, a darmanitan and a houndoom. They were the strongest fighters Ace had, and he let them settle in their pokéballs before he turned to head out.

The ground rumbled underneath his feet as he stepped outside, and Ace paused, eyes wide as he saw a bright light through the rain. He had completely forgotten about the moltres Marco had brought home and he felt hope for the first time since Koala had knocked on his door.

There was no time for questioning what he was about to do. Ace simply trusted the look in the moltres' eyes and jumped on its back. Its flames were warm, and not even the rain could dampen the fire. It called out loudly and Ace gave directions, heading to a small, isolated cave. He had no idea how Marco had ended up there, and only hoped the girl was safe.

"Marco!" Ace called down as the moltres hovered about the plateau. The ground was scorched and flames came hurtling towards Ace. The moltres called out in anger, but Ace kept them steady. Marco had warned him this moltres liked to fight, but they needed to be sure they were here for the right reason.

A large bird came into view, dodging attacks from the angered resident. Marco's altaria looked almost graceful as it flew away from the reshiram that lurked here, but Ace could see it was tiring and only on the defensive. A pokémon on the defensive, especially one that was in a mega-evolution form like altaria now, was never a good sign.

"Altaria!" Ace shouted, and Marco's altaria sped over to them, practically radiating joy as it hovered beside the moltres. They were out of reshiram's range for the moment, but it wouldn't be long before the reshiram was on the attack again.

"What happened?" Ace asked softly, shaking his head as he took in the burns all along altaria's body. "Where's Marco?"

There was no way Marco would have let altaria stay out here in this condition. That meant one of two things, and the thought that Marco could be dead sent chills down Ace's spine.

Underneath him, the moltres moved, as if telling Ace off. Now was not the time for fear, the moltres said, and Ace nodded.

"Get somewhere safe and hide," Ace said to Marco's altaria, watching as it powered down from its mega-evolution and moved to the side quickly.

"You need to distract reshiram," Ace said to moltres. "We don't need to defeat it, but I need to get to Marco and see if he's okay. Can you do that?"

If the moltres could have grinned, Ace was sure it would have. It flew down, low enough to let Ace jump off and catch the reshiram's attention, before speeding up high, trying to lure the reshiram away. It appeared to be working, and Ace could see Marco now, half-crushed by a pile of rocks.

He swore, running to Marco's side with wide eyes.

"Marco," Ace said, looking over the rocks, relief flooding him when he saw they were more rubble than rocks that had done damage. Marco was breathing too – and there was something in his arms.

It was the girl. Ace sighed in relief, reaching for his pokeball and releasing his rapidash, hoping the moltres was distracting the reshiram enough for his gamble to work.

"I need to get them to the Robin's lab," he said, and his rapidash snorted, pawing the ground. "I'll follow you as soon as I can."

With that, Ace let out the rest of his team to clear away the rubble, constantly checking Marco and the child to see if they were okay.

"Thanks guys," Ace said, promising his team that they'd get treats when this was all over. They deserved it. There was no way Ace would have been able to do this without them.

Above, Moltres was still keeping reshiram's attention, so Ace slipped an arm around Marco's middle, moving him slightly to check the girl. She was okay – unconscious but okay. Ace managed to get her onto his rapidash's back quickly, before he turned back to Marco with a frown.

"Come on then," Ace said, eyes narrowing as he tried to get Marco onto his back. He was heavy (and at any other time, Ace would have made a joke about Marco needing to spend less time working on his muscles), and Ace wondered how he'd be able to get Marco onto rapidash's back.

Ace froze. It was weak, quiet, but he was sure Marco had just said his name. A squeeze to his arm confirmed Ace's thoughts and he felt tears of relief prick behind his eyes.

"You idiot," he said, and he felt Marco shudder with laughter. "Get on my rapidash and get back to Robin's. Don't you dare try and disagree. I'll meet you there."

Marco didn't say a word, simply pushed up slowly, most of his weight on Ace. Ace's rapidash lowered its knees as Ace held onto the girl, letting Marco clamber onto its back. They were off in a fiery gleam, and Ace felt his heart leap into his mouth as reshiram's attention was finally torn away from moltres.

"No you don't," Ace hissed, his team emerging from their pokéballs enthusiastically, rallying to Ace's commands. He didn't want to beat reshiram, just put enough space between it and his rapidash.

His pokémon were doing well, but Ace knew there was only so much they could do. Moltres was the one who could change the outcome of the battle and Ace watched as the moltres landed, signalling for Ace to jump on its back. Ace called his pokémon back as moltres shot up, and the air rushed from his lungs, the world suddenly becoming so small.

He wasn't too sure what happened next, but the world erupted in a huge blaze, flames pouring from both moltres and the reshiram. Ace felt no pain and wondered, just for a second, if he'd died in the outburst.

"I have to go home," he said, feeling his grip on moltres' feather slipping. His pokémon would be safe in their pokéballs and Marco's altaria could find its way home. If he fell here, they'd all be okay, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Moltres cried out, catching Ace painfully with a clawed foot. Its talons dug into Ace's skin as they swooped down to the ground, Ace gasping for breath when he hit the ground. He was flat on the ground, useless, but moltres stood over him protectively, facing the approaching reshiram.

Though it didn't attack, reshiram kept stepping closer and closer to them, ground shaking under its feet. Moltres let out a warning call as Ace tried to sit up, lungs sore and brain still whoozy.

_Do not return_, pierced through his head, and Ace knew it was the reshiram talking. He shuddered, clinging to moltres as it lowered its body, prepared to escape this place as soon as they could.

"Altaria," Ace mumbled, voice a little slurred, and he shook his head. Moltres seemed to understand, though, as they headed towards the area Marco's altaria had remained, Ace greeting it thankfully, holding it as best he could as they flew towards Robin's lab.

Ace had somewhat recovered by the time they arrived, and he was ushered in by a pale-faced Koala. Nurse Joy was waiting for them and she set chansey to work on Marco's altaria, pausing when she saw the moltres at Ace's side.

"Do you have its pokeball?" she asked quietly. Ace shook his head and she smiled, stepping outside to attend to her patient. The rain had stopped, must have a while ago now Ace realised, and dawn was beginning to break. It was a beautiful sight, but Ace didn't have time to admire the scenery.

"My charizard," he said, voice husky. Nurse Joy looked over her shoulder.

"Professor Robin went to pick up your charizard," she said and Ace sighed in relief. Everyone was safe.

"Ace!" a familiar voice called, and Ace turned, not bothering to hide how much he wanted to be with Marco right now. He ran forwards, meeting Marco half-way, and wrapped his arms around Marco, shaking his head against Marco's shoulder.

"I don't know how you chase down those legendary pokémon," Ace said eventually, pulling back with a frown. "It was amazing, but I couldn't do it."

Marco kissed the top of his head. He had bandages around his chest, shirt lost to the makeshift hospital ward, and Ace reckoned he'd cracked a few ribs, easily.

"I'd be dead if it wasn't for you," he whispered, tucking himself against Ace and holding him tightly again. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Ace replied, holding onto Marco as if he was the only thing that mattered. In most ways, Marco was. Or at least he was one of the very few humans who mattered to Ace.

"Can we go home?" Marco asked, anticipating Ace's next question. "All of our pokémon have been given the okay to continue their treatment at ours. In fact, Nurse Joy said we were probably better equipped for them."

Ace smiled, nodding. He wanted his pokémon and his bed – and Marco of course.

"Let's go home then," Ace said, letting his hand slip down to Marco's, entwining their fingers "Let's go home and spoil our pokémon."

They moved towards the door, but only got so far before the child's mother came rushing up to them.

"Thank you, oh goodness thank you." She covered her eyes with a hand, trembling. "Thank you, thank you."

Ace smiled.

"It's okay," he said, "we're just glad your daughter's okay."

(Ace wouldn't know it, but he'd be getting as much free bread as he wanted for the rest of his life from this night on, though the bakers made it clear they could never repay Ace and Marco for saving their child.)

They returned home, a hoard of pokémon following them. It seemed as though the entire house filled with pokémon that morning, all of the pokémon who were below in the tunnels venturing up to sit in the house. Even the larger pokémon tried to fir in the house – most notably the moltres who had accosted the entire lounge to almost to itself, a few other pokémon, notably Ace's charizard, squished by its side, happily sleeping.

All in all, Ace thought as he fell into a bed covered in Marco's pokémon, he had a good life. A great life in fact, and he smiled as he brushed his freezing cold feet against Marco's legs, the entire bed jerking as Marco jumped.

"You're terrible," Marco mumbled, voice thick with sleep. A sleepy altaria peered up at Ace and he patted the free side of the bed. Ace had learnt here was nothing better than being sandwiched between Marco and his altaria, and he'd take advantage of that while pokémon were allowed on the bed.

"What legendary shall I get you next?" Marco asked, smiling widely as Ace laughed.

"All of them," he demanded. "None of them. You're the only legendary one I need."

Marco rolled his eyes, but Ace could tell he was smiling, even as he turned away. Ace moved away from altaria, throwing his arm over Marco's chest and spooning him, holding him close enough to feel his heartbeat.

Ace had an amazing life.

**.**

Reviews are always appreciated, thank you for reading!


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